Kelly Ripa Nearly Left 'Live' But A Stranger Helped Her Decide To Stay

Years ago, Kelly Ripa was conflicted about staying at her job. She was trying to decide what to do when a stranger unknowingly helped her make an important decision.

"I always go back to this really long time ago and it was one of these dark times at work where the job was riddled with insecurity. There was a lot of insecurity for all of us, not just myself," Ripa, 52, explained to Gabby Bernstein on her "Dear Gabby" podcast.

"I remember it was a time where I was feeling very down at the job, very down, and I was really contemplating whether or not I should leave the job. And it was a constant drumbeat, I was talking about it so much that I was making my coworkers nervous. They were coming to me feeling scared. Are you going to leave us? I don't lie, and I said I don't know. I really have to consider my options because I'm not sure this is a good fit for me."

The talk show host further explained that during the time of feeling unsure of just what to do, she went out to eat with a group of friends. While she was still eating, a woman approached her and handed her a business card telling her to read the note written on the back of the card and then left. "I flipped the card over, God only knows what this says, I was preparing myself for the worst and I don't know why," she explained. "She said, my mother lives in a nursing home, she has dementia, she's 87-years-old, you are her best friend. In that moment I said, I'm with her."

It turned out that it wasn't the woman's business card, just a random business card, so Ripa was never able to find her and thank her for giving her the clarity she so desperately needed. "I tried to find her because she didn't even know what she gave me, what she gave us in that moment of struggle. I really found that silver lining that this woman needs her best friend," she said.

"Especially when you're dealing with dementia and there's so much pain, and she sees me as the constant thing that she recognizes. And so I just thought it was so meaningful and it happened at that time. Like I never said I never think there are accidents there. That's the moment I was like it matters. It's bigger than me. It was a very meaningful, powerful, important moment for me."

During the rest of the podcast, Bernstein and Ripa also discussed meditation, writing her book, self-awareness, dealing with anxiety, and grounding yourself.

Last month, Ripa revealed to PEOPLE that there were good and bad days on "Live" during the earlier times. She admitted that writing the chapter about her former co-host Regis Philbin in her book "Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories" was "the hardest chapter to write." "There were good and bad days. I don't want to feel like I'm slamming anyone or that I'm being disrespectful," she told PEOPLE. "But I also want people to know it was not a cakewalk. It took years to earn my place there and earn things that are routinely given to the men I worked with. Including an office and a place to put my computer."

Ripa explained that the biggest misconception for many was that it all came easily for her. "People think I just showed up one day and was handed a job and I lived happily ever after and now everything's perfect," she said. "But it never is that way."